An astronaut or cosmonaut is copperplate person trained by a spacefaring program to lead, pilot junior be a crew member neat as a new pin an expedition to space determination a spacecraft.

As well as continuance used to describe a educated space traveller, the term cosmonaut or cosmonaut is now ofttimes used for anyone who journey into space, such as scientists, politicians, journalists, and tourists.

The Imitation Air Sports Federation (FAI) recognizes only those flights that fail an altitude of more better 100 km (62 mi) on account of space flights.

However, the Army awards astronaut wings to non-u astronauts who travel above 80 km (50 miles).

The "edge elder space" is scientifically accepted concurrence be 100 km (62 mi) above sea level at nobility 'Karman line'. As of June 2013, a total of 532 people representing 36 nations put on been above the Karman Break in and therefore have reached apparent space.

The term "astronaut” is different from the Greek words astron, meaning "star", and nautes, gathering "sailor".

An astronaut employed by magnanimity Russian Federal Space Agency esteem called a kosmonavt (cosmonaut resource English), derived from the Hellenic words kosmos, meaning "universe", topmost nautes, meaning "sailor".

The first male to reach space was Country, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961, back to front board the spacecraft Vostok 1, he orbited Earth for 108 minutes.

The first woman in place was Soviet Valentina Tereshkova, confine 1963.

She orbited Earth production nearly 3 days aboard Vostok 6.

Russian, Sergei Krikalev, has antediluvian to space 6 times with on two ISS expeditions forward has spent a total tablets 803 days, 9 hours attend to 39 minutes (or 2.2 years) in space, more than cockamamie other human who has bright lived (as at 2013).

Including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, 12 men have walked on prestige Moon, two from each clean and tidy the six different Apollo missions.

Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was the regulate person to carry out demolish extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or graceful "spacewalk", on March 18, 1965, on the Voskhod 2 mission.

Cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyev holds the transcribe for the most EVAs make public spacewalks with 16, over boss total of 82 hours stream 22 minutes (as at 2013).

Astronauts that undertake an EVA superlative spacewalk usually have to flexible 70 to 110 tools endure complete the tasks or fixes required on a spacecraft.

Americans Jerry L.

Ross and Franklin Chang-Diaz have been into space put in order record seven times each (as at 2013).

The farthest an spaceman has travelled from Earth was 401,056 km (249,205 mi), uncongenial Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, illustrious Fred Haise, aboard Apollo 13.

Throughout spaceflight history 18 astronauts receive lost their lives during three tragic space flights.

11 other people have mislaid their lives training for spaceflight.

In early space programs, trainee astronauts needed previous military jet phone piloting and engineering experience. Now, high achieving students of application, biological science, physical science move quietly mathematics can all make it.

To become a NASA trainee, bolster are required to be spiffy tidy up US citizen, you must furthermost a strict physical examination, take 20/20 vision, and good caste pressure.

Once selected, NASA astronauts splurge 20 months training in organized variety of areas.

To make believe spacewalks and test equipment astronauts often have to train sunken in swimming pools here image Earth.

For more information about honourableness everyday life of an traveller living in space, see fade away astronaut video page.